Nail-holder for hammers or hatchets.



W. B. WIELAND.

NAIL HOLDER FOR HAMMBRS 0R HATGHBTS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8, 190a.

932,21 1 Patented Aug. 24, 1909.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM ERNEST WIELAND, OF DURANGO, COLORADO.

NAIL-HOLDER FOR HANZMERS OR HATCHETS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM E. VVIELAND, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Durango, in the county 01" La Flats and State of Colorado, have invented a new and Improved Nail Holder for Hammers or Hatchets, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

One purpose of this invention is to provide novel details of construction for the handle of a nail driving tool, such as a hamnier or hatchet, which convert the handle into a magazine, wherein nails of a selected dimension may be carried, and by a shaking movement of the handle be passed through a longitudinal slot in the hollow body thereof, and hang by their heads projected from the slot, to be manually removed a may be desired.

A further object or the invention is to provide an adjustable guard plate, for controlling the width of the longitudinal slot in the hollow handle, so that nails of different sizes may be successively carried, the width of the slot being changed by an adjustment of the guard plate, so as to correspond with the thickness of the bodies of the nails that have been placed in the handle for successive use; and a further object of the invention is to provide a spring holder that will engage the head of a nail, and hold the body of the nail extended at a proper angle from the handle, to adapt it for easy removal when it is to be driven into material by use of the tool.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts, as is hereinafter described and defined in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a sectional side view of the hollow handle of a hatchet, embodying features of the invention; Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view of the same, looking in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view, on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, A represents the blade and A the poll, of a hatchet of ordinary form, shown to illustrate the application of the improvement as a helve for a nail-driving instrument.

he handle of the tool, which embodies the features of invention, consists of a bait 5, formed of plate metal and having a suitable Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 8, 1908.

Serial No. 442,475.

length for effective service. The hollow handle may, with advantage, be given the shape represented in the drawings, having a substantially oval form in cross section, as shown in Fig. 3, the portion a thereof that alines with the blade A being slightly convexed, considered longitudinally. The portion 6, of the handle 5, that is opposite the portion a, is curved outward a greater degree than said portion a. One end portion of the hollow handle 5 is given proper form to adapt it for attachment upon the hatchet blade and poll, so that the handle body extends therefrom in the usual manner. The opposite end of the handle 5 is flared outward, and this open end is closed by a flat cap-plate 5 that is hinged, as shown at c in Fig. 1, upon the edge defining the opening into the handle, and furnished with a hasp d at a point opposite the hinged connection, thus providing an adjustable closure for the free end of the handle 5.

Through the portion 5 of the hollow haft 5 a slot 0 is longitudinally formed, and is shown as terminating at e and e but. this slot may have greater length if this is preferred. The width of the slot 0, as formed in the wall 5 of the handle 5, is sufiicient to permit nails B of considerable thickness to drop freely outward through said slot when a quantity is placed in the handle, the heads of these nails catching upon the inner surface of the wall b near the edges of the slot. At the end of the slot 6 that is nearest to the poll A of the hatchet, a plate-spring 6 is secured by one end f, and thence extends loosely through a transverse slot 9 at a point where the end 6 of the-longitudinal slot e in tersects said transverse slot. The portion 6 of the plate spring 6 which is passed. inward through the transverse slot g, is curved upward as shown in Fig. 1, and is thus ad apted for a slight impingement upon the head of a nail B that slides in the slot 6 into contact therewith, and by said contact of the head of the nail its body will be projected out from the handle 5.

It will be seen that as the nails held in the handle 5 are of a like size, an agitation of said nails by shaking the handle 5 will quickly cause a plurality thereof to drop through the slot 0 and hang by their heads in sequence as represented in Fig. 1. It will be apparent that the disposal of the nails B in a row extended from the handle 5, permits the outer portion of said handle to be grasped,

Patented Aug. 2a, 1909.

and thus enables the use of the poll A for driving nails into material. When the poll A is to be used as stated, the workman with one hand grips the nail that is held in place by the s ring holder portion 6 and pulls it out of tie transverse slot 9, then with the handle 5 grasped in the other hand, the nail that has been placed in proper position may be driven into material that is to be nailed. If the operation is to be repeated several times, the row of nails that hang suspended from the slot in the handle 5, may be successively removed from the slot as before explained and be rapidly driven into place.

It will be noted that the provision of the spring holder 6, is very essential for the support of nails in convenient position for removal from the handle, and constitutes an important feature of the invention.

The slot 6 in the hollow handle 5 is of a width that permits the largest nails the device is to carry to pass f ely therethrough, and as the heads of smaller nails would also pass through said slot, unless provision was made for reducing the width of the slot, to adapt it for passing the bodies of nails having different thicknesses therethrough and supporting the nails by their heads, to this end an adjustable guard plate 7 is provided, which as represented in Figs. 2 and 3 coinprises the following details. The plate 7 is of a proper length to extend slightly past each end of the slot 6, and is formed of plate metal curved in cross section so as to fit upon the handle at the slot 6. Two transverse slots h are formed at points near ends of the plate 7, respectively, and the latter is bent upon itself so that a flanged portion "5 is lapped upon the inner surface of the body portion 1) when the guard plate is in position. Opposite the slots it two threaded perforations are formed in the body portion 6 of the handle 5, and in said perforations are screwed the threaded ends of two set screws in which have been respectively inserted through the slots h.

It will be seen that the guard plate 7 may be adjusted readily by means of the screws m, so as to give the slot 6 proper width to pass nails therethrough of a selected thickness, and support said nails by their heads as hereinbefore explained.

It is to be understood that nails of very small wire gage, large nails, and nails of various sizes between the largest and smallest gages, may be placed in the handle 5, and be successively removed as they project from from the adjustable slot in the handle, the holder plate 7 retaining the heads of nails of various gages equally as well when adjusted for each size of nails.

It is obvious that a hammer body may be employed for the purpose of driving nails carried in the hollow helve, and be as eflicient in service as a hatchet, the latter only being preferred when a tool for lathers use is to be provided.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The combination with a nail driving means, of a hollow handle provided with a longitudinal slot arranged to receive the bodies of a series of nails, and a transverse slot at the end thereof of greater width than said longitudinal slot, a s ring holder plate secured. to said handle in a inement with said longitudinal slot and having one end arranged to project through said transverse slot to close the same and adapted when forced inwardly to permit the passage of nails therethrough.

2. The combination with a nail driving means, of a hollow handle provided with. a longitudinal slot and a transverse slot at one end thereof arranged to receive the bodies of a series of nails, means for varying the width of the longitudinal slot to receive nails of different sizes, a spring holder plate secured to the slotted side of said handle at one end and having its free end extending through said transverse slot into the interior of the handle, said spring being arranged to normally prevent the escape of nails through the transverse slot but being arranged to be shifted by the engagement of the head of a nail to permit the latter to be withdrawn from the slot.

3. The combination with a nail driving means, of a hollow handle having a longitudinal slot therein and a transverse slot at the end of said longitudinal slot, a laterally adjustable guard plate arranged. to change the width of said longitudinal slot, a holder plate consisting of a leaf spring fastened at one end. to said handle and provided with an outwardly curved central portion and having its free end projecting inwardly through said transverse slot and arranged normally to close said transverse slot against the passage of the head of a nail and being arranged to move inwardly by the engagement of a nail head to permit the latter to be withdrawn from the transverse slot.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM ERNEST WIELAND.

Witnesses W'ILLIAM C. LIESENBERG, LAWRENCE MILLER. 

